Local failure mechanism of sand-blocking fence in latticed dune along desert roads

The latticed dunes in the Tengger Desert are widely distributed,and the sand-blocking fence placed here are highly susceptible to local failure due to complex wind-sand activities,posing a serious threat to the safe operation of the highway.To explore the local failure mechanism of sand-blocking fence in the latticed dune area,the local failure of sand-blocking fence in the latticed dune areas along the Wuhai-Maqin Highway in China was observed.Taking the first main ridge of the latticed dune as the placement location,the structure of the wind-sand flow field of sand-blocking fence placed at top,the bottom and the middle of windward slope was analyzed by Computational Fluid Dynamics(CFD).The results show that when placed at top of the first main ridge,the wind speed near the sand-blocking fence is the highest,up to 15.23 m/s.Therefore,the wind load strength on the sand barrier is correspondingly larger,up to 232.61 N∙m-2.As the strength of material continues to decrease,the nylon net is prone to breakage.The roots of the angle steel posts are susceptible to hollowing by vortex action,which can cause sand-blocking fence to fall over in strong wind conditions.When placed at the bottom of windward slope,wind speed drop near sand-blocking fence is greatest,with the decrease of 12.48-14.32 m/s compared to the original wind speed.This is highly likely to lead to large-scale deposition of sand particles and burial of the sand-blocking fence.When placed in the middle of windward slope,sand-blocking fence is subjected to less wind load strength(168.61N∙m-2)and sand particles are mostly deposited at the bottom of windward slope,with only a small amount of sand accumulating at the root of sand-blocking fence.Based on field observations and numerical modelling results,when the sand-blocking fence is placed in latticed dune area,it should be placed in the middle of the windward slope of the first main ridge as a matter of priority.Besides the sand-blocking fence should be placed at the top of the first main ridge,and sand fixing measures should be added.

基于ROADS的面向场景业务架构建模方法

ROAD元架构通过业务架构指导整个企业架构体系开发过程,是一组简单明确且高效的模型表达。针对已有的元架构体系中业务活动模型所采用的IDEF0图存在对多组件系统之间丰富的活动触发序列和信息交互场景描述能力不足的问题,提出在ROAD元架构基础上引入场景模型,与原来基于IDEF0的活动模型融合成为面向场景的活动模型,同时具备层次化描述能力和场景化时序表达能力。扩展后的ROADS元架构保留原架构的整体性和灵活性,且补充面向场景的系统建模能力,实现业务架构设计中的场景管理。最后以一个情景化外语教学系统为例,使用ROADS元架构方法建立场景化业务架构模型组,并对其进行讨论,为现有架构体系提供一种面向场景的扩展思路。

Landslide susceptibility mapping of mountain roads based on machine learning combined model

Landslide susceptibility mapping of mountain roads is frequently confronted by insufficient historical landslide sample data,multicollinearity of existing evaluation index factors,and inconsistency of evaluation factors due to regional environmental variations.Then,a single machine learning model can easily become overfitting,thus reducing the accuracy and robustness of the evaluation model.This paper proposes a combined machine-learning model to address the issues.The landslide susceptibility in mountain roads were mapped by using factor analysis to normalize and reduce the dimensionality of the initial condition factor and generating six new combination factors as evaluation indexes.The mountain roads in the Youxi County,Fujian Province,China were used for the landslide susceptibility mapping.Three most frequently used machine learning techniques,support vector machine(SVM),random forest(RF),and artificial neural network(ANN)models,were used to model the landslide susceptibility of the study area and validate the accuracy of this evaluation index system.The global minimum variance portfolio was utilized to construct a machine learning combined model.5-fold cross-validation,statistical indexes,and AUC(Area Under Curve)values were implemented to evaluate the predictive accuracy of the landslide susceptibility model.The mean AUC values for the SVM,RF,and ANN models in the training stage were 89.2%,88.5%,and 87.9%,respectively,and 78.0%,73.7%,and 76.7%,respectively,in the validating stage.In the training and validation stages,the mean AUC values of the combined model were 92.4% and 87.1%,respectively.The combined model provides greater prediction accuracy and model robustness than one single model.

基于ROAD的租车订购系统业务流程建模

基于业务架构为中心的企业架构开发思路,采用开放组架构框架(TOGAF)业务架构ACF元模型的划分,提出了一种ROAD架构迭代建模方法。针对目前ROAD元架构中业务活动模型采用IDEF0的活动模型导致的面向场景业务能力的不足,文中通过使用BPMN模型来覆盖IDEF0的活动建模,避免在描述复杂的业务过程时可能存在的局限性,并且更好地捕捉和表示所有的细节和关系,不会使得模型过于抽象。从而实现面向场景的系统建模和管理,提高业务架构设计的效率和精度。最后,文章中以旅游出行租车订购系统为例的方法,采用ROAD元架构方法建立场景化业务架构模型组,并对其进行讨论和改进,为现有架构体系提供一种面向场景的扩展思路。

A Novel Network Screening Methodology for Rural Low-Volume Roads

Low-volume roads (LVRs) are an integral part of the rural transportation network providing access to remote rural areas and facilitating the movement of goods from farms to markets. These roads pose unique challenges for highway agencies including those related to safety management on the highway network. Specifically, traditional network screening methods using crash history can be effective in screening rural highways with higher traffic volumes and more frequent crashes. However, these traditional methods are often ineffective in screening LVR networks due to low traffic volumes and the sporadic nature of crash occurrence. Further, many of the LVRs are owned and operated by local agencies that may lack access to detailed crash, traffic and roadway data and the technical expertise within their staff. Therefore, there is a need for more efficient and practical network screening approaches to facilitate safety management programs on these roads. This study proposes one such approach which utilizes a heuristic scoring scheme in assessing the level of risk/safety for the purpose of network screening. The proposed scheme is developed based on the principles of US Highway Safety Manual (HSM) analysis procedures for rural highways and the fundamentals in safety science. The primary application of the proposed scheme is for ranking sites in network screening applications or for comparing multiple improvement alternatives at a specific site. The proposed approach does not require access to detailed databases, technical expertise, or exact information, making it an invaluable tool for small agencies and local governments (e.g. counties, townships, tribal governments, etc.).

Sino-Uzbek Joint Archaeology:Adhering to the Spirit of Silk Road,Exploring the Pearl of Silk Road

Since 2012,a joint archaeological team of Chinese and Uzbek archaeologists has conducted eight archaeological excavations at the site of the ancient city of Mintepa in Uzbekistan,making a series of important archaeological discoveries and restoring the status of Mintepa ancient city in the Ferghana Basin and in the history of ancient Central Asia.

Regeneration Potential of Woody Species at the Side of Secondary Roads Post-Logging of Loundoungou-Toukoulaka Forest Management Unit, Republic of the Congo

Natural regeneration is the basis of a dynamic and demographic balance of plant populations. The objective of this study was to assess the natural regeneration potential of woody species along secondary roads post-logging abandoned since 2008 and 2018. In the two Annual Allowable Cuts (AAC 2008 and AAC 2018), 24 regenerating sub-plots (i.e. 12 sub-plots for AAC 2008 and 12 sub-plots for AAC 2018) with a unit area of 5 m × 5 m were delimited with a total area of 0.06 ha (i.e. 0.03 ha for each AAC). The abundance and diversity of woody species were respectively inventoried and estimated. Two estimators of the specific richness were used to estimate the floristic diversity of each Annual Allowable Cuts (AAC). The results reveal globally 88 woody species in the AAC 2008 and 241 woody species in the AAC 2018, with respective average densities of 2933 stem/ha and 8033 stem/ha. There was a very highly significant difference between the mean densities of the two AAC (Kruskal-Wallis test;H = 2.36, p-value < 0.000). The results also highlight a great diversity and a relatively high abundance of woody species in the 2018 AAC compared to the 2008 AAC. Also, the spatial structuring of the sub-plots on the basis of Principal Component Analysis (PCA) demonstrates that the floristic composition of the two AAC is globally different. The study suggests silvicultural interventions and the long-term assessment of regenerating woody species along abandoned secondary roads in order to guarantee the sustainable management of their population.

3D Road Network Modeling and Road Structure Recognition in Internet of Vehicles

Internet of Vehicles (IoV) is a new system that enables individual vehicles to connect with nearby vehicles,people, transportation infrastructure, and networks, thereby realizing amore intelligent and efficient transportationsystem. The movement of vehicles and the three-dimensional (3D) nature of the road network cause the topologicalstructure of IoV to have the high space and time complexity.Network modeling and structure recognition for 3Droads can benefit the description of topological changes for IoV. This paper proposes a 3Dgeneral roadmodel basedon discrete points of roads obtained from GIS. First, the constraints imposed by 3D roads on moving vehicles areanalyzed. Then the effects of road curvature radius (Ra), longitudinal slope (Slo), and length (Len) on speed andacceleration are studied. Finally, a general 3D road network model based on road section features is established.This paper also presents intersection and road section recognition methods based on the structural features ofthe 3D road network model and the road features. Real GIS data from a specific region of Beijing is adopted tocreate the simulation scenario, and the simulation results validate the general 3D road network model and therecognitionmethod. Therefore, thiswork makes contributions to the field of intelligent transportation by providinga comprehensive approach tomodeling the 3Droad network and its topological changes in achieving efficient trafficflowand improved road safety.

Automation in road distress detection,diagnosis and treatment

Road transportation plays a crucial role in society and daily life,as the functioning and durability of roads can significantly impact a nation's economic development.In the whole life cycle of the road,the emergence of disease is unavoidable,so it is necessary to adopt relevant technical means to deal with the disease.This study comprehensively reviews the advancements in computer vision,artificial intelligence,and mobile robotics in the road domain and examines their progress and applications in road detection,diagnosis,and treatment,especially asphalt roads.Specifically,it analyzes the research progress in detecting and diagnosing surface and internal road distress and related techniques and algorithms are compared.In addition,also introduces various road gover-nance technologies,including automated repairs,intelligent construction,and path planning for crack sealing.Despite their proven effectiveness in detecting road distress,analyzing diagnoses,and planning maintenance,these technologies still confront challenges in data collection,parameter optimization,model portability,system accuracy,robustness,and real-time performance.Consequently,the integration of multidisciplinary technologies is imperative to enable the development of an integrated approach that includes road detection,diagnosis,and treatment.This paper addresses the challenges of precise defect detection,condition assessment,and unmanned construction.At the same time,the efficiency of labor liberation and road maintenance is achieved,and the automation level of the road engineering industry is improved.

Application of Modified Asphalt in Municipal Roads

The article expounds modified asphalt technology by introducing commonly used modifiers and fillers and analyzing the construction technology of modified asphalt.The use of modified asphalt in municipal roads provides new alternatives for asphalt pavement materials,but also solves the existing construction problems and reduces project costs.Therefore,the research and application of modified asphalt using new materials and new processes is a crucial aspect in road construction.

ConvNeXt-UperNet-Based Deep Learning Model for Road Extraction from High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images

When existing deep learning models are used for road extraction tasks from high-resolution images,they are easily affected by noise factors such as tree and building occlusion and complex backgrounds,resulting in incomplete road extraction and low accuracy.We propose the introduction of spatial and channel attention modules to the convolutional neural network ConvNeXt.Then,ConvNeXt is used as the backbone network,which cooperates with the perceptual analysis network UPerNet,retains the detection head of the semantic segmentation,and builds a new model ConvNeXt-UPerNet to suppress noise interference.Training on the open-source DeepGlobe and CHN6-CUG datasets and introducing the DiceLoss on the basis of CrossEntropyLoss solves the problem of positive and negative sample imbalance.Experimental results show that the new network model can achieve the following performance on the DeepGlobe dataset:79.40%for precision(Pre),97.93% for accuracy(Acc),69.28% for intersection over union(IoU),and 83.56% for mean intersection over union(MIoU).On the CHN6-CUG dataset,the model achieves the respective values of 78.17%for Pre,97.63%for Acc,65.4% for IoU,and 81.46% for MIoU.Compared with other network models,the fused ConvNeXt-UPerNet model can extract road information better when faced with the influence of noise contained in high-resolution remote sensing images.It also achieves multiscale image feature information with unified perception,ultimately improving the generalization ability of deep learning technology in extracting complex roads from high-resolution remote sensing images.

Design Strategy of Municipal Roads and Bridges Using BIM Technology

Under the rapid development of socio-economy and urbanization,the state’s attention toward urban infrastructure continues to increase.The construction of municipal road and bridge projects is related to people’s daily travel and transport safety,and it also plays an important role in promoting urban economic development.Therefore,modern technology should be fully utilized in the design of municipal roads and bridges to strengthen construction cost control and increase their social and economic benefits.In this paper,the characteristics and application status of BIM technology in municipal road and bridge design are analyzed,and corresponding road and bridge design strategies are explored to promote the healthy development of municipal road and bridge projects.

Risk assessment of oil and gas investment environment in countries along the Belt and Road Initiative

With the implementation of the Belt and Road Initiative, China is deepening its cooperation in oil and gas resources with countries along the Initiative. In order to better mitigate risks and enhance the safety of investments, it is of significant importance to research the oil and gas investment environment in these countries for China's overseas investment macro-layout. This paper proposes an indicator system including 27 indicators from 6 dimensions. On this basis, game theory models combined with global entropy method and analytic hierarchy process are applied to determine the combined weights, and the TOPSIS-GRA model is utilized to assess the risks of oil and gas investment in 76 countries along the Initiative from 2014 to 2021. Finally, the GM(1,1) model is employed to predict risk values for 2022-2025. In conclusion, oil and gas resources and political factors have the greatest impact on investment environment risk, and 12 countries with greater investment potential are selected through cluster analysis in conjunction with the predicted results. The research findings may provide scientific decisionmaking recommendations for the Chinese government and oil enterprises to strengthen oil and gas investment cooperation with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative.

Analysis of the Application of Windbreak and Sand Fixation Technology in Desert Roads

In order to solve the problems in the construction of desert roads and improve the quality of desert roads in China,this paper discusses the current windbreak and sand fixation technologies in desert areas in China,and puts forward relevant suggestions and corresponding solutions for each problem.This paper is written with hopes of contributing to the development of windbreak and sand fixation technologies in China as well as the development of the economy,society and environment in China's deserts.

Exploring the Factors Associated with 12-Month Non-Return to Work among Motorcyclists Involved in Road Accidents

Introduction: Motorcyclists bear a disproportionate burden of morbidity and mortality from road accidents. In addition, the consequences of these accidents affect the ability of victims to return to work. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with non-return to work among surviving motorcyclists involved in road accidents 12 months after the event. Materials and Methods: It was a cross-sectional study conducted using data from a cohort of motorcyclists involved in accidents and recruited in five hospitals in Benin from July 2019 to January 2020. The dependent variable was non-return to work 12 months after the accident (yes vs no). The independent variables were categorized into two groups: baseline and 12-month follow-up variables. Logistic regression was used to determine the factors associated with non-return to work at 12 months among the participants. Results: Among the 362 participants, 55 (15.19%, 95% CI = 11.84 - 19.29) had not returned to work 12 months after the accident. Risk factors for non-return to work identified were: smoking (aOR = 4.41, 95% CI = 1.44 - 13.56, p = 0.010), hospitalization (aOR = 2.87, 95% CI = 1.14 - 7.24, p Conclusion: The prevalence of non-return to work at 12 months was high among surviving motorcyclists involved in road accidents in Benin. Integrated support for patients based on identified risk factors should effectively improve their return to work.

Research Progress of Epoxy Asphalt Material for Roads

Asphalt is a semi-solid or solid mixture formed by hydrocarbons and non-metallic elements.It is widely applied in the fields of building waterproofing and road paving.Asphalt is a low noise,durable,and renewable pavement material.However,asphalt materials have some shortcomings such as liquefying at high temperatures and brittleness at low temperatures,which are less adaptable to different environments.Therefore,people have gradually shifted their focus to asphalt modification.This paper presents an in-depth analysis and research on the composition,structure,and performance of epoxy asphalt materials for roads,so that this material can be widely used.

A Brief Discussion on the Development of the Silk-Weaving Industry Along the “Southern Silk Road” in Yunnan

Ancient Yunnan was one of the most significant regions along China’s ancient“Southern Silk Road.”During the Nanzhao period(738–902)of the late Tang Dynasty,Yunnan’s silk-weaving industry underwent a qualitative leap as skilled silk craftsmen from the Bashu area migrated to Yunnan and introduced mulberry planting,silkworm breeding,and advanced silk-weaving techniques from Sichuan to the region.Consequently,people in Yunnan gradually acquired expertise in brocade weaving and embroidery.Many even mastered complex silk-weaving techniques.The development and progress of the silk-weaving industry in the ancient Yunnan region were intricately linked to the economic function and value of silk as both a commodity and currency along the“Southern Silk Road.”The local government in ancient Yunnan was greatly motivated by the economic interests brought by the development of silk-related industries and recognized the significance of developing the local silk industry.They even initiated a campaign to capture skilled silk craftsmen from Sichuan,aiming to foster the growth of the silk-weaving industry in Yunnan.After years of dedicated efforts from the local government in ancient Yunnan,the region emerged as a significant hub for silk production along China’s ancient“Southern Silk Road.”Despite the devastation caused by the wars in other parts of the country,Yunnan’s silk industry continued to thrive and provide ample silk products to sustain trade along this renowned route.In the contemporary era,amidst the decline of the silk-weaving industry in eastern China,Yunnan has proposed an industrial development strategy known as“relocating the silk-weaving industry from east to west.”This involves introducing advanced silk production techniques from the eastern regions into Yunnan to enhance and enrich its local silk industry,thereby establishing it as a traditional national sector and securing a competitive position within the global silk market.The historical experience of Yunnan’s silk industry demonstrated that economic development opportunities can only be seized through proactive endeavors rather than passive anticipation.The modern Yunnan silk industry,which upholds its historical traditions,continues to actively engage in international high-end technical cooperation,thus ensuring the enduring vitality of the ancient“Southern Silk Road.”

Resilience assessment and optimization method of city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period

The post-earthquake emergency period,which is a sensitive time segment just after an event,mainly focuses on saving life and restoring social order.To improve the seismic resilience of city road networks,a resilience evaluation method used in the post-earthquake emergency period is proposed.The road seismic damage index of a city road network can consider the influence of roads,bridges and buildings along the roads,etc.on road capacity after an earthquake.A function index for a city road network is developed,which reflects the connectivity,redundancy,traffic demand and traffic function of the network.An optimization model for improving the road repair order in the post-earthquake emergency period is also developed according to the resilience evaluation,to enable decision support for city emergency management and achieve the best seismic resilience of the city road network.The optimization model is applied to a city road network and the results illustrate the feasibility of the resilience evaluation and optimization method for a city road network in the post-earthquake emergency period.

Weakly Supervised Network with Scribble-Supervised and Edge-Mask for Road Extraction from High-Resolution Remote Sensing Images

Significant advancements have been achieved in road surface extraction based on high-resolution remote sensingimage processing. Most current methods rely on fully supervised learning, which necessitates enormous humaneffort to label the image. Within this field, other research endeavors utilize weakly supervised methods. Theseapproaches aim to reduce the expenses associated with annotation by leveraging sparsely annotated data, such asscribbles. This paper presents a novel technique called a weakly supervised network using scribble-supervised andedge-mask (WSSE-net). This network is a three-branch network architecture, whereby each branch is equippedwith a distinct decoder module dedicated to road extraction tasks. One of the branches is dedicated to generatingedge masks using edge detection algorithms and optimizing road edge details. The other two branches supervise themodel’s training by employing scribble labels and spreading scribble information throughout the image. To addressthe historical flaw that created pseudo-labels that are not updated with network training, we use mixup to blendprediction results dynamically and continually update new pseudo-labels to steer network training. Our solutiondemonstrates efficient operation by simultaneously considering both edge-mask aid and dynamic pseudo-labelsupport. The studies are conducted on three separate road datasets, which consist primarily of high-resolutionremote-sensing satellite photos and drone images. The experimental findings suggest that our methodologyperforms better than advanced scribble-supervised approaches and specific traditional fully supervised methods.

Autonomous Vehicle Platoons In Urban Road Networks:A Joint Distributed Reinforcement Learning and Model Predictive Control Approach

In this paper, platoons of autonomous vehicles operating in urban road networks are considered. From a methodological point of view, the problem of interest consists of formally characterizing vehicle state trajectory tubes by means of routing decisions complying with traffic congestion criteria. To this end, a novel distributed control architecture is conceived by taking advantage of two methodologies: deep reinforcement learning and model predictive control. On one hand, the routing decisions are obtained by using a distributed reinforcement learning algorithm that exploits available traffic data at each road junction. On the other hand, a bank of model predictive controllers is in charge of computing the more adequate control action for each involved vehicle. Such tasks are here combined into a single framework:the deep reinforcement learning output(action) is translated into a set-point to be tracked by the model predictive controller;conversely, the current vehicle position, resulting from the application of the control move, is exploited by the deep reinforcement learning unit for improving its reliability. The main novelty of the proposed solution lies in its hybrid nature: on one hand it fully exploits deep reinforcement learning capabilities for decisionmaking purposes;on the other hand, time-varying hard constraints are always satisfied during the dynamical platoon evolution imposed by the computed routing decisions. To efficiently evaluate the performance of the proposed control architecture, a co-design procedure, involving the SUMO and MATLAB platforms, is implemented so that complex operating environments can be used, and the information coming from road maps(links,junctions, obstacles, semaphores, etc.) and vehicle state trajectories can be shared and exchanged. Finally by considering as operating scenario a real entire city block and a platoon of eleven vehicles described by double-integrator models, several simulations have been performed with the aim to put in light the main f eatures of the proposed approach. Moreover, it is important to underline that in different operating scenarios the proposed reinforcement learning scheme is capable of significantly reducing traffic congestion phenomena when compared with well-reputed competitors.